Another “Accolade” for the Chávez Government…Dead Last on the 2011 International Property Rights Index

The results of the 2011 International Property Rights Index (IPRI) are in and they are not very complimentary of the Chávez government’s economic policies. The Index is an annual comparative study that aims to quantify the strength of property rights – both physical and intellectual. With a score of 3.4, Venezuela scored the lowest ranking among 129 economies.

The IPRI ranks each country based on 11 factors reflecting the state of its Legal and Political Environment (LP), Physical Property Rights (PPR) and Intellectual Property Rights (IPR). According to the study, countries hungry for foreign investment must demonstrate a healthy economy and a business-friendly environment.  The report points out that there is an important correlation between countries where private property is respected and economic prosperity.

“This reflects that excessive control, constant attacks against private property through expropriations and nationalizations, laws that limit investment freedoms and the highest inflation in Latin America make the Venezuelan economy one of the most repressed economies in the world,” said CEDICE President Rafael Alfonzo Hernández reacting to the report.

The report was published by the Property Rights Alliance (PRA) based in Washington, DC. The PRA has the support of 67 think tanks and policy organizations in 53 countries involved in research, policy development, education, and promotion of property rights in their countries.